Solarposition.org

New Zealand · 38.65° S · 178.00° E

Solar position in Gisborne

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Gisborne — computed for 38.65° S, 178.00° E, 10 m above sea level.

Sunrise today06:08106° ESE
Sunset today19:36254° WSW
Best panel angle33°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle63°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation63.4°
At solar noon, 12:52Open on the sun map

Sun in Gisborne today

Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+13

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:32sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn05:0712° below
Civil dawn05:406° below
Sunrise06:08106° ESE
Golden hour ends06:44sun 6° up
Solar noon12:5263.4° high
Golden hour starts19:00sun 6° up
Sunset19:36254° WSW
Civil dusk20:046° below
Nautical dusk20:3712° below
Astronomical dusk21:1218° below
Day length13 h 27 min

Sun path diagram for Gisborne

Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.

15°30°45°60°75°N30°60°E120°150°S210°240°W300°330°June solstice8910111213141516EquinoxDecember solstice67891011121314151617181920Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 27.9° at solar noon in Gisborne; on the December solstice only 74.8°. Sunrise swings from 60° ENE in June to 121° ESE in December — a 61° arc along the horizon.

Sunrise, sunset and sun height by month

Values for the 21st of each month, local clock time including daylight saving time.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January06:0613:1920:3114 h 25 min71.3°
February06:4213:2120:0013 h 18 min62.0°
March07:1113:1519:1812 h 07 min51.2°
April06:4012:0617:3210 h 52 min39.6°
May07:0712:0417:009 h 53 min31.2°
June07:2512:0916:539 h 28 min27.9°
July07:1912:1417:099 h 50 min30.9°
August06:4612:1117:3610 h 49 min39.2°
September05:5912:0118:0312 h 03 min50.6°
October06:1412:5219:3113 h 18 min62.0°
November05:4112:5320:0514 h 24 min71.2°
December05:3913:0520:3214 h 53 min74.8°

A year of daylight in Gisborne

Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.

00:0003:0006:0009:0012:0015:0018:0021:0000:00JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best solar panel angle in Gisborne

Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

33°collects the most energy over a year: 1467 kWh per kWp.

63°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 33°Best worst-month 63°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJune kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°126486%1.403.9×
15°140696%1.982.8×
30°1465100%2.442.2×
33° year-round best1467100%2.512.1×
39° = latitude1460100%2.641.9×
45°144098%2.741.7×
60°133291%2.871.4×
63° off-grid best130189%2.871.4×
70°121883%2.851.3×
90°91162%2.581.6×

A fixed array in Gisborne produces the most over a year at 33°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 63° it makes 2.87 kWh per kWp a day, 14% more than at 33°, and costs 11% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Gisborne at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 33° (year-round best).

0123456January: 3.28 (70°)3.3JanFebruary: 3.49 (70°)3.5FebMarch: 3.63 (70°)3.6MarApril: 3.49 (70°)3.5AprMay: 3.19 (70°)3.2MayJune: 2.85 (70°)2.9JunJuly: 2.92 (70°)2.9JulAugust: 3.40 (70°)3.4AugSeptember: 3.71 (70°)3.7SepOctober: 3.68 (70°)3.7OctNovember: 3.34 (70°)3.3NovDecember: 3.07 (70°)3.1Dec33°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 33°Mean temp.
January6.723.913.285.2118.2 °C
February5.634.163.494.8018.3 °C
March4.484.293.634.3116.8 °C
April3.204.083.493.5914.6 °C
May2.283.703.192.9612.5 °C
June1.783.292.852.5110.5 °C
July1.953.362.922.649.4 °C
August2.773.913.403.359.7 °C
September3.954.283.714.1310.9 °C
October5.234.283.684.7712.3 °C
November6.213.923.345.0414.1 °C
December6.493.653.074.9716.3 °C
Year4.22 avg3.90 avg1218 kWh1467 kWh

Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through June on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 410 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 470 Wp at 33°. The steep array is 12% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Gisborne

Distance between rows of 2 m long panels (slope length) so that no row shades the next between 10:00 and 14:00 solar time on the winter solstice.

4.8 mrow pitch at 70°

4.0 mrow pitch at 33°

Row spacing calculator

How Gisborne compares in New Zealand

Against the other 46 places in New Zealand with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

19thof 47 places in New Zealand for sunshine: 4.22 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in New Zealand: 1,467 against 1,455 kWh per kWp.

+11 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Auckland: 14 h 53 min against 14 h 42 min.

33°best year-round tilt here; across New Zealand it runs from 30° in Whangarei to 39° in Dunedin.

Of the 47 places in New Zealand, Whangarei gets the most sun (4.36 peak sun hours a day) and Invercargill the least (3.46); Gisborne ranks 19th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.86 kWh a day here, against 2.77 kWh on average in New Zealand. The shortest day lasts 9 h 28 min, −10 min compared with Auckland.

The sunniest places in New Zealand

Solar forecast for Gisborne, next 48 hours

Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.

Loading the latest forecast…

Questions about the sun in Gisborne

What is the best solar panel angle in Gisborne?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Gisborne is 33°, worth about 1467 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through June does better at about 63°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Gisborne today?
On 25 October 2026 the sun rises at 06:08 and sets at 19:36 local time (UTC+13), giving 13 h 27 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:52.
How many peak sun hours does Gisborne get?
On a flat surface 4.2 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.8 in June to 6.7 in January. Panels tilted at 70° receive 3.3 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in Gisborne?
At solar noon the sun stands 27.9° above the horizon on the June solstice and 74.8° on the December solstice.
Is Gisborne a good place for solar panels?
With 4.2 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Gisborne ranks 19th of 47 places in New Zealand for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (33°) makes about 1,467 kWh a year here, 1% more than the average place in New Zealand.

Places near Gisborne

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Sun positions: NREL Solar Position Algorithm. Climate: NASA POWER monthly climatology (NASA Langley Research Center). Forecast: Deutscher Wetterdienst, ICON-EU (CC BY 4.0), processed. Places: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Time zones: IANA. Sources and licences.